Hiphil Stem (Hebrew)¶
Definition¶
The Hiphil (הִפְעִיל) is the H-stem of the Hebrew verb — the primary causative stem. It is formed by prefixing he (ה) to the root and adds an external causer to the Qal action: what Qal says "happens," Hiphil says "is made to happen." It is the workhorse stem for nearly every Hebrew conquest, creation, and covenant-transfer verb ("smite," "devote," "destroy," "dispossess," "bring," "raise up," "beget").
Core functions:
- Causative-factitive — subject causes the object to do or become the Qal action ("cause to ride," "raise up," "bring [= cause to come]")
- Productive / internal causative — subject produces or enters a state ("bring forth," "multiply," "rain down")
- Declarative / estimative — subject declares or treats the object as X ("pronounce righteous," "declare guilty")
- Denominative — derives verbs from nouns ("give ear [listen]," "give rain," "yield fruit")
For the yiqtol conjugation specifically, see hiphil-imperfect.md.
Form Recognition¶
Morphological markers¶
- Perfect: hiqṭîl (הִקְטִיל) — he-prefix with hiriq, long î theme vowel: הִכָּה "he smote," הֶחֱרִים "he devoted," הֶאֱבִיד "he destroyed"
- Imperfect: yaqṭîl (יַקְטִיל) — preformative vowel a (patach), ה elides: יַכֶּה "he will smite," יוֹרִישׁ "he will dispossess"
- Wayyiqtol: wayyaqṭēl — shortened theme vowel: וַיַּךְ "and he smote" (Exo 2:12), וַיַּכֵּם "and he smote them" (Gen 14:15)
- Participle: maqṭîl (מַקְטִיל) — mem-prefix: מַבְדִּיל "separating" (Gen 1:6), מַכֶּה "striker" (Gen 36:35, Exo 2:11)
- Infinitive Construct: haqṭîl (הַקְטִיל): הַכּוֹת "to strike" (Gen 4:15, 8:21), הַבְדִּיל "to separate" (Gen 1:14)
- Infinitive Absolute: haqṭēl: הַרְבָּה "multiplying" (Gen 3:16)
- Imperative: haqṭēl: הַאְזֵנָּה "give ear!" (Gen 4:23)
Diagnostic features¶
- Long î (hiriq-yod) theme vowel in the "default" form (hence the stem name hiphīl)
- a-class preformative vowel in the Imperfect (יַ־, תַּ־, אַ־, נַ־) — contrasts with Qal's i-class (יִ־, תִּ־)
- He-prefix visible in Perfect, Infinitive, Imperative (but not Imperfect or Participle)
Parser code¶
sp=verb vs=hif — any Hiphil form
sp=verb vs=hif vt=perf — Hiphil Perfect (hiqṭîl)
sp=verb vs=hif vt=impf — Hiphil Imperfect (yaqṭîl)
sp=verb vs=hif vt=wayq — Hiphil Wayyiqtol narrative past
Functions with Examples¶
1. Causative-factitive (primary function)¶
The subject causes the object to perform the Qal action. An external agent enters the verbal frame.
| Reference | Hebrew | Parsing | KJV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gen 14:15 | וַיַּכֵּם | Hiphil.Wayq.3ms+3mp of נכה | "and smote them" (caused the stroke to fall on them) |
| Gen 19:11 | הִכּוּ | Hiphil.Perf.3p of נכה | "they smote the men... with blindness" |
| Exo 2:12 | וַיַּךְ | Hiphil.Wayq.3ms of נכה | "and slew [smote] the Egyptian" |
| Gen 2:19 | וַיָּבֵא | Hiphil.Wayq.3ms of בוא | "and brought them" (caused them to come) |
| Gen 41:43 | וַיַּרְכֵּב | Hiphil.Wayq.3ms of רכב | "he made him to ride" |
| Deut 18:15 | יָקִים | Hiphil.Impf.3ms of קום | "the LORD... shall raise up [a prophet]" |
2. Conquest verbs — the causative grammar of Joshua/Deuteronomy¶
Nearly every divine-war verb in the conquest narratives is Hiphil. The stem itself encodes that YHWH "causes the destruction" through Israel as the instrumental agent.
| Reference | Hebrew | Parsing | KJV | Root meaning (Qal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deut 7:2 | וְהִכִּיתָם / הַחֲרֵם תַּחֲרִים | Hiphil.Perf.2ms+3mp of נכה; Hiphil.InfAbs + Hiphil.Impf.2ms of חרם | "thou shalt smite them... utterly destroy [devote] them" | — / חרם Hiphil gloss = "consecrate [to destruction], ban" |
| Deut 9:3 | יַשְׁמִידֵם... וְהֹורַשְׁתָּם | Hiphil.Impf.3ms+3mp of שׁמד; Hiphil.Perf.2ms+3mp of ירשׁ | "he shall destroy them... thou shalt drive them out" | שׁמד Qal unattested; ירשׁ Qal = "possess" |
| Jos 10:40 | הֶחֱרִים | Hiphil.Perf.3ms of חרם | "utterly destroyed all that breathed" | — |
| Jos 11:12 | וַיַּכֵּם... הֶחֱרִים | Hiphil.Wayq+Perf of נכה/חרם | "smote them... utterly destroyed them" | — |
| Deut 11:23 | וְהוֹרִישׁ | Hiphil.Perf.3ms of ירשׁ | "the LORD drive out all these nations" | ירשׁ Qal = "take possession" |
| Exo 34:24 | אוֹרִישׁ | Hiphil.Impf.1s of ירשׁ | "I will cast out the nations" | same — Hiphil inverts to "dispossess" |
| 1 Sam 15:3 | וְהַחֲרַמְתֶּם | Hiphil.Perf.2mp+cons of חרם | "utterly destroy all that they have" | — |
Grammatical point. The Qal of ירשׁ means "to take possession, inherit"; the Hiphil reverses the frame — "to cause [them] to lose possession" = "dispossess, drive out." This is a textbook Hiphil inversion: yāraš "possess" → hôrîš "cause-not-to-possess." The same pattern appears with ילד Qal "be born" → Hiphil "beget." The conquest verbs require the Hiphil precisely because the action is performed on someone by an external causer.
3. Productive / internal causative¶
The subject produces or enters a state; often renders as an intransitive English verb.
| Reference | Hebrew | Parsing | KJV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gen 1:11 | תַּדְשֵׁא | Hiphil.Impf.3fs of דשׁא | "let the earth bring forth grass" |
| Gen 1:12 | תּוֹצֵא | Hiphil.Wayq.3fs of יצא | "the earth brought forth" (caused-to-go-out) |
| Gen 2:5 | הִמְטִיר | Hiphil.Perf.3ms of מטר | "the LORD God had... caused it to rain" |
| Gen 3:16 | אַרְבֶּה | Hiphil.Impf.1s of רבה | "I will greatly multiply thy sorrow" |
| Gen 1:15, 17 | הָאִיר | Hiphil.InfCon of אור | "to give light" (cause to be light) |
4. Declarative / estimative¶
The subject does not perform the action but pronounces the object to possess the quality.
| Reference | Hebrew | Parsing | KJV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Kgs 8:32 | הַרְשִׁיעַ / הַצְדִּיק | Hiphil.InfCon of רשׁע / צדק | "condemning... justifying" (declare guilty / righteous) |
| Gen 3:11 | הִגִּיד | Hiphil.Perf.3ms of נגד | "[who] told thee" (caused [it] to be set before) |
5. Denominative (verb from noun)¶
| Reference | Hebrew | Parsing | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gen 4:23 | הַאְזֵנָּה | Hiphil.Impv.2fp of אזן | "give ear!" (from אֹזֶן "ear") |
| Gen 2:5 | הִמְטִיר | Hiphil.Perf.3ms of מטר | "send rain" (from מָטָר "rain") |
Contrast with Qal and Piel¶
The three stems most often confused are Qal (base), Piel (intensive/factitive), and Hiphil (causative). Only Qal is semantically "basic"; Piel and Hiphil both involve second-party effects but along different axes.
| Stem | Semantic axis | Typical gloss | Example root | Qal → Stem |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qal | Basic action, subject performs | "do X" | קום | qām "he arose" |
| Piel | Factitive — brings about a state or result; intensifies result; plural/iterative action | "make X into Y" | קדשׁ | Qal "be holy" → Piel qiddēš "consecrate, sanctify" |
| Hiphil | Causative — introduces an external causer of the action | "cause to do X" | קום | Qal "arise" → Hiphil hēqîm "raise up, erect" |
Worked contrasts¶
| Root | Qal | Piel | Hiphil |
|---|---|---|---|
| בוא | bāʾ "he came" | (rare) | hēbîʾ "he brought" (caused to come) |
| קום | qām "he arose / stood" | qiyyēm "he confirmed, fulfilled" (bring to realization) | hēqîm "he raised up, erected" |
| ילד | yālad "she bore" | yillēd "she assisted in birth [midwife]" | hôlîd "he begat, sired" |
| שׁוב | šāb "he returned" | šiwwēb "he brought back [poetic]" | hēšîb "he restored, brought back" |
| מלא | mālēʾ "he was full" | millēʾ "he filled [it]" (make full) | himlîʾ "he caused [it] to be full" |
| ראה | rāʾāh "he saw" | — | herʾāh "he showed" (caused to see) |
| גדל | gādal "he grew great" | giddēl "he raised [a child], brought up" (make-great) | higdîl "he magnified, made great" |
| ידע | yādaʿ "he knew" | — | hôdîaʿ "he made known, informed" |
The Piel/Hiphil overlap. Piel and Hiphil both introduce causation, but Piel focuses on bringing about a state in the object (result-oriented: "make full," "make holy," "make great"), while Hiphil focuses on causing the object to perform the Qal action (process-oriented: "cause to come," "cause to arise"). With verbs of becoming both are possible and the language often uses only one. With verbs of action (come, go, ride, eat, see, know) Hiphil is the standard causative and Piel is unattested or rare.
Contrast with Other Stems¶
| Stem | Function | Example | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qal | Basic G-stem | קָם "he arose" | — |
| Niphal | Simple passive / reflexive | נִכְרַת "he was cut off" | stem-niphal.md |
| Piel | Factitive / intensive / resultative | קִדֵּשׁ "he consecrated" | — |
| Pual | Passive of Piel | קֻדַּשׁ "he was consecrated" | — |
| Hiphil | Active causative | הֵקִים "he raised up" | (this entry) |
| Hophal | Passive of Hiphil ("be caused to do") | הוּקַם "he was raised up" | — |
| Hithpael | Reflexive / iterative | הִתְקַדֵּשׁ "he sanctified himself" | — |
Hiphil and Hophal form a voice pair: Hiphil is the active causative, Hophal the passive of the same ("be made to arise," "be brought"). Niphal and Pual handle other passive relations (simple and intensive respectively).
Common Hiphil Verbs in Conquest / Warfare Vocabulary¶
| Verb root | Qal meaning | Hiphil meaning | Representative reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| נכה (nakah) | (Qal rare) | smite, strike, kill (hikkāh) | Deut 7:2; Jos 11:12; 1 Sam 15:3 |
| חרם (charam) | (denom. of חֵרֶם) | devote to destruction, utterly destroy (heḥĕrîm) | Deut 7:2; Jos 10:40; 1 Sam 15:3 |
| שׁמד (shamad) | (unattested) | destroy, exterminate (hišmîd) | Deut 9:3 |
| אבד (avad) | "perish" | destroy, cause to perish (heʾĕbîd) | Deut 11:4; 2 Kgs 21:3 |
| ירשׁ (yarash) | "possess, inherit" | dispossess, drive out (hôrîš) | Deut 11:23; Exo 34:24 |
| נוס (nus) → נוּס | "flee" | hēnîs "put to flight" (rare) | Judg 20:32 |
| גרשׁ (garash) | "drive out" (Piel primarily) | — | (Piel carries this sense) |
| בוא (bo) | "come" | bring [in] | Deut 7:1; Jos 23:9 |
| קום (qum) | "arise" | raise up (a prophet, king, enemy) | Deut 18:15; 1 Kgs 14:10 |
| שׁוב (shub) | "return" | bring back, restore | 1 Kgs 13:6 |
Other common Hiphils (non-warfare). בדל (Hiphil only) "separate, divide" (Gen 1:4, 7); זרע "sow" (Gen 1:11 Hiphil "yield seed"); ילד "beget" (Hiphil); נגד "tell, declare" (Hiphil only); ידע "make known" (Hiphil); אור "give light" (Hiphil); מטר "send rain" (Hiphil, Gen 2:5); רבה "multiply" (Hiphil Gen 3:16, 22:17).
Why conquest narratives are saturated with Hiphils¶
The theological point embedded in the grammar: Joshua and Deuteronomy rarely use Qal verbs for the destruction of the Canaanites. The verbs are almost uniformly Hiphil. This is not stylistic — the Hiphil stem requires an external causer. In Deut 7:2 the surface subject is "you" (Israel), but the grammar marks Israel as the instrumental agent of a causation whose ultimate source is named in the preceding clause: "when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee." Similarly Deut 9:3 names YHWH as the one who yašmîdēm "will destroy them"; Israel's wəhôraštām "thou shalt dispossess them" is the Hiphil executed through the human instrument. The conquest is grammatically a Hiphil event: YHWH is the causer, Israel the means.
Grammar Citations¶
- GKC §53 — Hiphil conjugation, meaning, paradigm
- Joüon-Muraoka §54 — Hiphil as causative H-stem
- Waltke-O'Connor (IBHS) §27 — The Causative Stems: Hiphil and Hophal (pp. 433–452); §27.2 on causative-factitive, declarative-estimative, denominative
- van der Merwe-Naudé-Kroeze §16.5 — Hiphil functions with examples
- Jenni, Das hebräische Piʿel (1968) — classic work distinguishing Piel's factitive focus from Hiphil's causative focus
- BDB / HALOT s.v. נכה, חרם, שׁמד, ירשׁ — verbs attested almost exclusively in Hiphil
Generated from: hebrew_parser.py --search "sp=verb vs=hif" (40+ results), --lemma "נכה" (15 results), KJV text for conquest verses (Deut 7:2, 9:3; Jos 10:40, 11:12; 1 Sam 15:3; Exo 34:24) Last updated: 2026-04-18